Sins of The Mother
by Phamtom
Summary: What happens when your side is not as pure and noble as you thought? That is the question Glimmer must face when a minor skirmish with the Horde leads the princess to discover a truth her mother has tried very hard to forget.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: She-ra and The Princesses of Power is owned by Dreamworks Animation. This work is purely a fan creation, for the enjoyment of fellow fans and not for any form of profit.**

Swiftwind circled the castle once then drifted down to land on the bridge leading to the main gate. His four hooves touched down on the polished stone with a loud thud and he clinched his teeth to suppress a groan.

"We can walk the rest of the way," Adora said climbing down from Swiftwind's back. "Why don't you go get some rest."

"Yeah, that is," Glimmer stuttered quietly. "That's a good idea, thank you Swiftwind," the princess said and dismounted, Bow doing the same.

"Thanks," Swiftwind said. It was a long flight from Mystacor to Brightmoon, and had carried three people on an empty stomach and no sleep. Still, he hesitated as he saw Glimmer dragging her feet towards the main gate. "You think she will be okay?" he whispered to Adora.

"I think so," Adora whispered. "But me and Bow will be with her, and you need some rest."

Swiftwind nodded turned and flew off for his usual stall, leaving Bow and Adore with Glimmer.

Glimmer was finding it hard to walk. She was almost dragging her feet up the long concourse that lead to the main gate of Castle Brightmoon. She starred intently at the polished stone surface that was passing under her with each slow step. She did not want to look up, did not want to see the castle where she was born, where she had spent so many days and nights. She was afraid to look at it, afraid of what she might feel at the sight of it, or maybe what she would not feel. Bow walked beside her, saying nothing but watching her concerned, he had never known Glimmer to be this quiet.

A voice called to them from up ahead, it was Queen Angella with her personal guard approaching them.

The trio stopped, Glimmer did not look up.

"Glimmer, what is going on?" the Queen asked in a slightly demanding tone. "I received a message from your aunt, Castaspella. She said you left Mystacor and wandered into the wilderness without any warning. When you failed to return, or send word, she sent all her soldiers and half her students to find you."

Glimmer looked up from her feet for a moment, still not looking at her mother. "I'm sorry," was all the princess said before glancing back down at the ground. She tried to push past her mother but Angella stopped her.

"Glimmer, what happened in Mystacor? Your aunt was very upset."

"I need to recharge," Glimmer said, then walked past Angella and towards the entrance to the castle.

"Glimmer!" Angella shouted.

"I need to recharge," Glimmer said, her voice quivering. She did not turn to look at her mother. "We can talk afterwards," then continued on.

The Queen looked to Adora and Bow who looked back, confused and worried but saying nothing as they followed Glimmer a crossed the bridge. Angella watched them go for a moment weighing the choices of letting them go or insisting that they stay. "Bow!" she cried, deciding upon a compromise.

The three of them stopped abruptly, Bow turned and bowed towards Angella. "Yes, my queen?"

"I would like to hear your report on your mission," Angella said.

Bow looked at Adora then Glimmer. The princess gave him a weak attempt at a smile and he turned and walked back to Queen.

Angella said nothing, silently looking past Bow to watch Glimmer and Adora disappear through the main gate. It had barely swung shut when she instantly turned to Bow. "What happened?" she snapped impatiently, almost angrily.

Bow was startled sensing the Queen's state of mind and it took him a moment to answer her. "I am not sure," he confessed.

"Not sure?" Angella narrowed her eyes at Bow.

"I did not see everything because-"

"You weren't with her?" Angella said cutting Bow off.

"I was, most of the time."

"You were instructed to be with her at all times, all times!" her voice was getting louder, and anyone could tell her patience was waning.

"I was," Bow protested.

"Then what happened?"

Bow looked around nervously, trying to think of the quickest, and clearest, way to explain. He took a small breath and looked at his Queen. "Do you know someone named Lord Locust?"

Angella blinked and any anger she had vanished, like a leaf in a wind storm. "Lord Locust?" she said in astonishment and with a hint of fear.

"Yeah," and with that Bow began his report…


	2. Chapter 2

Wounds

A loud clack followed by a cloud of dark smoke and a shower of sparks as another Horde attack drone collapsed, an arrow projecting from the smashed remains of its main visual sensor. Bow shot another arrow this time into the knee joint of a drone that was almost on top of him. The three-legged machine stumbled forward and Bow stabbed its sensors with another arrow.

Not far away She-ra was busy hacking away at a collection of drones that were closing in around her.

"Behind you," Bow shouted then shot an arrow at a drone circling around She-ra. The arrow lodged itself inside the machine's back, but seemed to do nothing aside from getting its attention. The drone turned, leveled its energy weapon at Bow who disabled the weapon with another arrow.

The machine extended a powerful claw to crush Bow. There was a sudden tearing and both Bow and the drone looked down to see the tip of a sword projecting through the front of its armor plating. From behind, She-ra pulled the sword out and the wreck machine collapsed.

"They're still coming," Bow warned, notching another arrow and drawing back the string. His arm was starting to burn with the strain, but he took aim and disabled another drone. The others formed into a rough line, all leveling their weapons at Bow and She-ra.

Bow felt a moment of panic as he realized there was nothing he could do. He felt a clamp like grip on his arm and he was pulled through the air. He landed on the soft ground behind one of the disabled drones, She-ra crouching beside him.

Around them the air shimmered as it was lit by the discharge of dozens of Horde weapons.

"What do we do?" Bow asked, drawing what he realized was his last arrow.

She-ra glanced from the river, now twenty or thirty yards away, then back to Bow. "Looks like we might have to try that escape plan after all."

Bow blinked, he looked down at his hand. It looked fine but he could feel an odd, sort of tingling. It was like tiny ants or flies crawling over the skin and it was spreading. He looked up at She-ra and noticed the long strands of her blonde hair were rising upward. He noticed sparks, like tiny lightening bolts, dancing along the metal shaft of his arrow.

There was a thunderous racket around them and they peak around the corner of their cover to see the Horde drones shaking and whirling violently, sparks flying out from their interiors followed by columns of smoke. Then they collapsed, most of them all at once, a few shortly after the rest. The air was thick with the smell of burning circuits and heated metal but there was no movement.

"Bow!" Glimmer called as she emerged from the trees, Perfuma right behind her. "She-ra, are you two all right?"

"All right?" Bow asked, his face lit up by a massive smile. "We're better than all right, it worked perfectly." He wrapped Glimmer in his arms, lifting her up and spinning her around.

"It would appear you were able to stop all the drones," Perfuma said looking around at their smoking remains.

Mermista walked up from the river. "This is one big mess to clean up," she said and allowed herself a slight smile. "But at least now we can shut down the Horde's weapons at will."

There was a gasp as something tumbled over a heap of metal and crashed to the ground.

"What was that?" She-ra asked.

There was gagging sound, like someone trying to call out.

"Over here," Bow pointed and took off among the motionless drones, the others following close behind. They came upon a vehicle, laying motionless on its side. She-ra recognized it as a Horde command skiff near by lay Scorpia. She was on her knees, panting violently, her large frame trembling with each struggling breath. Her left arm seem to hang uselessly at her side. She glanced up at them, her dark eyes full of fear and her face covered in cold sweat then she collapsed completely.

She-ra ran to Scorpia and turned her onto her back. She put a finger against Scorpia's neck, feeling for a pulse. It was there but faint and erratic. "A heart attack," she said. "Glimmer, search the skiff for a first aid kit. Bow, find a communicator that still works. Perfuma, Mermista, help me get her armor off."

Bow and Glimmer practically dove into the skiff, turning every panel and piece of hardware. He picked up a device that looked something like long tuning fork and wondered if it was a Horde communicator. He groaned, remembering Adora had told him that every Horde vehicle had its own communicator built in. He found what looked like the communications panel, flipped a switch but nothing happened. He flipped it the other way, pressed a button and turned a dial, no change. "It looks like the communication system is completely shot," he said.

"I found the kit, at least," Glimmer said holding up a dark gray pouch with a bright red cross on it.

"Take it to She-ra, I'll keep working on a communicator," Bow said.

Glimmer vanished in a soft burst of light. Bow shook his head, he did not know what to do then he snapped his fingers. He set to work removing the panel. With an effort he worked the bolts loose and when he pried the panel off he found a mass of blackened circuits and smoldering wires. He groaned, and, realizing the system was beyond any hope of repair, climbed over the side of the overturned skiff to She-ra and the others.

"The com-system is completely burnt out," Bow said.

"Keep looking," She-ra told him, digging through the medical kit.

"Where? That spell fried every circuit and overloaded every wire in range."

She-ra shook her head, trying to focus more on helping Scorpia than just how hopeless her situation was. She removed a device from the kit that she could not identify then set it aside. She took a syringe from the pack, held it up in the sun light then injected the clear fluid into Scorpia's neck.

Scorpia's eyes snapped open and she gasped, she tried to sit up but grimaced and fell back again. She laid there, motionless and panting but still awake.

"What is wrong with her?" Perfuma asked.

"It looks like a heart attack," She-ra said.

"But how could that be?" Glimmer asked. "The spell only affected machines, how could it give her a heart attack?"

"Maybe it affects people to," Mermista suggested.

"But me and Bow were standing right in the middle when Glimmer activated it," She-ra said. "It didn't effect either of us."

"What is that?" Perfuma asked. She was pointing to, something, attached to Scorpia's skin near her left shoulder. It was a round oval shape directly over her heart very subtle, in fact it was hard to see unless someone was looking at it very closely.

They all looked at each other, confused. She-ra ran her finger along the edge. "It's a patch, of somekind," she said. Gently she pealed it back to expose whatever it covered.

Perfuma nearly screamed then clasped her hands over her mouth.

"By the depths," Mermista whispered, astonished.

"That's impossible," Glimmer said.

"Actually it explains everything," She-ra said.

Beneath the patch of fake skin was a metal panel set into Scorpia's body. She-ra pressed a small button marked 'display' and a small hologram appeared in the air above it. It showed a series of lines that rose and fell erratically, changing color as they went.

"What is that?" Bow asked.

"They look like her vital signs," She-ra said.

"What does it mean?" Glimmer asked.

"It means she's dying." She-ra looked at the panel again and noticed a strange electronic port. She blinked and picked up the device she had set aside. She examined the plug on the end of the cable. "I wonder," she said. She started to plug the cable into the panel when Mermista grabbed her wrist.

"Don't waste your time," Mermista said.

"She is still alive, we can save her," She-ra said.

"She's one of them," there was a strange, bitter emphasis on the 'them.' "And they're not worth saving."

There was a moment when the world just stopped turning. She-ra, Bow and Glimmer stared at the Salinean Princess in total disbelief. It was like a nightmare, to hear such words coming from someone they had fought side by side with. "I used to be with the Horde," She-ra reminded her.

"The Horde? Hah!" Mermista scoffed then stood up. She pointed at the metal panel in Scorpia's body. "Anyone who would put," she paused as if she had to force herself to say the rest, "that! In their body is not worth helping and Etheria is better off without them."

"We can't just let her die," Glimmer protested.

"You can't," and with that Mermista wiped her hands together, spun on her heel and marched off. Bow and Glimmer watched her go, their mouths hanging open as she disappeared among the piles of burned out machinery.

She-ra did not watch her go, but simply plugged the device into the port.

"What are you doing?" Perfuma protested.

She-ra looked to her. "You to?" now she was more angry than shocked.

"Is she, she's a," Perfuma could not bring herself to finish the sentence.

"She has an artificial heart," She-ra explained. "There is nothing wrong with her. The spell must have caused it to malfunction and we have to fix it."

"Can you remove it?" Perfuma asked.

"It's her heart. You can't just remove someone's heart."

"Then she is a," Perfuma shook her head, jumped to her feet and ran away.

She-ra watched her disappear then turned to Glimmer and Bow as if expecting them to leave as well. Glimmer merely shook her head, Bow shrugged, just as surprised and confused as She-ra was.

The device's screen lit up with a series of lines, and Scorpia's breathing became slower, and deeper.

"It seems to be doing something," Glimmer observed.

"System restart successful?" Bow read on the device's screen. "Warning, system error detected. Cardio implant functioning at fifty-five percent?"

"What does that mean?" Glimmer asked.

"It means that its working again," Scorpia said in a weak voice. "Just not at full power."

"Are you all right?" She-ra asked.

"Oh I'm fine," Scorpia smiled. "I wish the ground would stop spinning like a rotor blade and maybe I could move my arm," just then her left pincer closed very slightly and her entire arm shook with the effort. "But other than that I can't really complain."

"What do we do now?" Glimmer asked.

"The only ones who can help her now are in the Fright Zone," She-ra said.

"And how do we get her to the Fright Zone?" Bow asked. "It's miles away and I can't find a working communicator. Everything has been wrecked by the spell."

"The seat," Scorpia said. "There should be a spare communicator under the seat."

Bow climbed back into the wrecked skiff and found the device. He pressed a button on the side but nothing happened. "It's not working," he cried.

"Bring it here," She-ra said.

Bow climbed back out and gave She-ra the communicator. She tried it but when it did not work she removed a panel from the bottom then took a spare power cell from the bottom of the medical kit and placed it into the communicator.

The display lit up like normal. "Hello, Horde Sector command, anyone there?" She-ra said.

"Wait," Glimmer said, realizing for the first time what her friend intended to do. "You're calling the Horde?"

"They're the only ones who can help her. If I can-" She was interrupted by a voice from the communicator.

"This is Horde Sector Command, identify yourself."

"This is a code four-nine-tango, repeat: four-nine-tango. Horde Captain Scorpia has been incapacitated and requires medical attention immediately."

"Roger that, what is your location?"

She-ra paused, trying to remember the Horde's coordinate system.

"Sector oh-eight-three," Scorpia said.

"What?" She-ra asked.

"Sector oh-eight-three, grid point epsilon."

She-re relayed the information to sector command.

"Roger that, medical team in route to your position, ETA twenty-four minutes."

"So we just wait for them to get here?" Glimmer asked.

"I don't want to just leave her here all alone."

Glimmer started to say something but then glanced down at Scorpia. "You're right, we can't just leave her here to die. If you are going to wait with her, then I'll wait with you."

"And me," Bow agreed.

Scorpia lifted her head for a moment, looking at them surprised, almost astonished.

"What?" Glimmer asked.

"It's not what I would have expected," Scorpia said. She turned her head to She-ra "maybe from you, but not them."

"I guess we just aren't as evil and ruthless as you thought," Glimmer said, with a hint of bitterness.

"Maybe not."

Bow climbed over the fallen skiff and with an arrow removed some padding from the seat. "I am a little curious," he asked as he slipped the padding under Scorpia's head for a makeshift pillow. "Why would someone want an artificial heart?"

"Well I was quite young at the time," Scorpia said. "But from what I was told, my parents did not have much choice."

"What happened?" Glimmer asked.

"Oh it was an accident, a long time ago," she closed her eyes, trying to remember. "Even today, looking back, it's all just a big blank. One minute I am inside a hanger, the biggest building I had ever seen and the next thing I remember I'm in an infirmary with a couple dozen different machines plugged into me. You can imagine what that was like for a seven year old."

"Seven years?" Glimmer asked.

"Yep."

"And you have had it all this time?"

"Not exactly, funny thing, artificial hearts don't grow with you. They had to replace it because I out grew it. They gave me a new heart when I was fourteen, and another when I started training in the Fright Zone."

"They?" Glimmer asked. "You mean the Horde?"

"Duh."

There was a sound in the distance. She-ra and the others looked up to see two small dots on the horizon.

"That's probably the transport," She-ra said.

"What's the plan?" Bow asked, grabbing his last arrow.

"It's just a medical transport," She-ra said. "They will collect Scorpia and be on their way."

They watched the transport approach. They could see, there was also a small dark shape flying along side it. It was not until the transport began to land that they could see it was a man wearing some kind of flying power armor. He touched down and the metallic wings folded back upon themselves and disappeared neatly into the armor. His helmet covered his entire face and sported a gleaming metallic dome on either side, it gave one the impression of large compound eyes. The hands were metallic claws, like Scorpia's pincers, one of them was carrying something that looked like a laser and it was leveled at She-ra, Bow and Glimmer.

She-ra raised her hands and stepped back, Glimmer and Bow did like wise. "We don't want to fight," She-ra said. "We just want to be sure that Scorpia gets home safely."

"Area is secure," the armored figure said and lowered his weapon.

The transport set down behind him, it was barely on the ground when the hatch opened and four people jumped out. They sprinted over to Scorpia and examined the diagnostic device still plugged into her panel.

"How is she?" the man demanded.

"Vital's are stable but weak, Lord Locust," one of the medics said. "Her cardio implant has been compromised but still partly functional. We need to get her back to the infirmary before it gives out completely."

"Then get her on the ship, move!"

The four medics lifted her onto a hovering litter and guided it back to the ship.

"Dad?" Scopia asked, drowsily.

"I am right here, sweetness," Lord Locust said, holding her pincer.

"Sorry you had to come all this way,"

"Don't worry about it, besides it's not like I had anything more important to do."

"I promise this won't become a thing," Scorpia tried to laugh but winced.

"The medics are going to take you home and take very good care of you."

"Thanks, dad," and with that Scorpia was taken inside the transport and the hatch closed behind her. The transport lifted up from the ground and started towards the horizon.

A panel on the back of Locust's armor opened and the wings unfolded to their full length. He looked up, preparing to leave.

"Lord Locust?" She-ra said.

He stopped and looked at them, taking no action, just watching them.

"Can I ask you a question?" She-ra said.

"If you wish," he said.

"Why did you join the Horde?"

There was a pause and then a sigh. His helmet suddenly split into four sections which retreated into compartments in the armor, just like his wings. His eyes and hair were the same as Scorpia but his face was rounder with short side burns. "If you want the short answer; the reason is on that transport, on her way back to the Fright Zone."

Glimmer and Bow exchanged glances.

"Scorpia?" She-ra asked.

"Of course," he said then seemed to become irritated. "What did you expect me to say?"

She-ra started to answer but then glanced down at the ground. "I'm sorry."

He smiled, any bitterness he felt vanishing all at once. "But if you want the details, well it is a long story," he glanced around at the mass of broken and useless machinery. "Probably better suited to a class room than this place. But if want, I will give you the highlights," he looked over his shoulder, as if for a chair that was not there. He shrugged and looked back at She-ra and the others. "There was an accident, Scorpia was just a little girl then. She was trapped under a collapsed girder and she was badly burned. We did everything we could to save her but it just wasn't enough, we were only delaying the inevitable."

"So, you turned to Hordak?" She-ra asked.

"He came to us, in fact. He told us he could save her life with artificial implants to replace her damaged organs. In the end they replaced her heart, a lunge, a kidney and her left arm."

"Wait, her left arm?" Bow asked, surprised.

Lord Locust nodded.

She-ra and Bow looked at each other, remembering what Scorpia had said and how it took all her strength just to flex her pincer just a tiny bit. "Why didn't you go to Brightmoon or Mysticor?" Bow asked. "Surely Castaspella could-"

"Castaspella!" Locust scoffed, and they could almost taste the sudden bitterness as he spoke her name. "They were the first people we turned to, Angella refused to help us. Castaspella said it was 'a fitting punishment for a family of traitors,'" Lord Locust turned and spat. "Her brother said he would never help us, that he would sooner see the Crimson Wastes in flames before he lifted a single finger to save any of us."

"You're lying!" Glimmer shouted and stepped forward. "My parents would never say such a thing and Castaspella would never let someone die, if even, if they were for the Horde."

Lord Locust was surprised for a moment then smiled, recognizing her. "You're Glimmer, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

Lord Locust looked down and away for a moment, remembering. "Last time I saw you, you were just a baby."

The three of them exchanged glances, confused and surprised.

"I am curious, Princess," Locust said. "If I am lying, then what is your side of the story?"

"What? I don't know, you said I was just a baby. You expect me to remember what happened that long ago?"

"Of course not, I want to know what they told you. I want to hear the story as your 'loving mother' and 'dear sweet aunt' told it to you."

Glimmer folded her arms and glared at Locust, angrily.

"They never did tell you, did they?"

Glimmer looked down for a moment, still saying nothing as her anger was eroding.

"They never told you about their righteous indignation, how good they felt about their decision to let Scorpia die just so they would not have to soil their hands? They never told you about how they left me and Dragonfly holding her tiny, burnt pincer and begging the universe not to-to," he stopped suddenly, looking away and whipping the tears in his eyes.

"It's not true, it can't be!" Glimmer shouted. "My parents would never do that, they-they just wouldn't. How could they?"

"If I'm lying, Glimmer," Locust looked back to the princess, much calmer now. "Then why don't you go ask your mother what really happened?"

"I will, I promise you I will," Glimmer said, trying make it sound like a threat.

"And when you do that, could you take a message to her, from me?"

"What message?"

Lord Locust gave them a broad smile that was beaming with confidence. "I never got her answer."

"What answer?"

"Ask her, she should know. And if not, well," he shrugged and his helmet reformed around his head then his wings began to vibrate lifting him several inches into the air and creating a strong gust. "I'm just making this all up, aren't I?" and with that he turned and flew off into the distance, leaving the three of them standing there alone.


	3. Chapter 3

It was good getting back to Mystacor, at least Bow thought so. It had been a long journey back and Glimmer was strangely quiet, hardly saying anything before they walked through the main gate. As usual they were met by Glimmer's aunt Castaspella, who asked them a hundred questions.

"Aunt Casta," Glimmer said. "It's been a rough day, and I know you want to hear our report, so do you think we could just, you know. Get on with it?"

The sorceress seemed a little surprised but nodded. "All right then, I have a conference room ready," she said.

The debriefing was not long albeit very routine. Glimmer did most of the talking, which was usual, but she was being very formal with her aunt, which was not. Adora and Bow were quiet most of the time, answering a question from Castaspella or clarifying some part Glimmer had not seen first hand.

As they walked a magic quill floated near by over a long roll of paper, marking down every word that was spoken.

"Then the mission was successful," Castaspella said, finally. "My new spell worked perfectly."

"Yes it did," Adora said.

"All's well that ends well." Castaspella giggled to herself and with a snap of her fingers the quill stopped moving and the paper rolled itself up neatly. "Well done," she stood up.

"Actually, Casta," Glimmer said. "There is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Castaspella asked.

Glimmer turned to Adora and Bow. "Do you mind letting me talk to my aunt, alone?" the anxiety in her voice was obvious.

"All right," Bow said and stood up, Adora with him.

"The dining hall will be serving supper in a few minutes," Castaspella said. "Just go right in if you're hungry."

"I'll me you there, later." Glimmer said.

"Okay then, see you later," Bow said trying to sound casual. He took a quick glance at Glimmer who was still just as nervous as before but she nodded. He shut the door, pushing it shut until he heard the latch click into place. He spun on his heel and started down the hallway, Adora following him.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked him.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"She's nervous, maybe even scared."

"Of course she is, anyone can see that."

"Then why don't you help her?"

"How?" Bow half-shouted stopping in the hallway. He looked around and noticed that a couple of wandering students were starring at them. He recomposed himself and started down the hallway again, Adora behind him. "Look, I care about Glimmer, so do you," he half whispered. "I've known her for years, I know she is very upset about this 'thing' with Lord Locust. I want to help her just as much as you do, but we can't, okay?"

"She can't just keep this bottled up inside her. She needs to talk about it."

"You're right she does, but we're not the one she wants to talk to right now."

Adora blinked then sighed. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Let's go get something to eat and when Glimmer is ready she will come and talk to us." They walked on until they got to the dining hall. They filled their plates, sat at a table near the entrance and ate in silence.

Gradually the mood of the moment lightened as the hall around them filled and they were surrounded by students eating, talking, or studying. Bow and Adora found themselves drawn into conversations as a few people recognized them and asked them a question or two. One student asked for an autograph. After supper Adora and Bow drank tea and munched on cookies while waiting for Glimmer. Around them students began to move on, slowly leaving the hall as empty as it had been. It was not until the crystals hanging from the ceiling above began to glow, illuminating the hall with a soft blue light that Bow realized just how long they had been waiting.

"Where's Glimmer?" Bow asked.

Adora looked around the hall. "I don't see her," she turned and looked at the series of large windows that dominated the far wall. The sky was getting dark and the shadows were getting very long.

"Let's go find her," Bow said, already up on his feet.

They walked back to the conference room, but it was empty. They went to the guest rooms, thinking perhaps Glimmer had decided to rest, but they were also empty. In fact, there was no sign that she had been there at all.

"What now?" Adora asked.

"Let's ask Castaspella," Bow suggested. "I know where her chambers are."

They were almost running to the wing where Castaspella kept her chambers. Bow reached out and knocked on the door. There was no response. "Castaspella?" he cried knocking again.

"Come in!" a voice shouted.

They opened the door and step inside to see Castaspella at her desk shuffling through documents and comparing different notes. "Can I help you?" she asked with a note of barely restrained anger.

"We're looking for Glimmer," Bow said.

"She's not here," Castaspella said then turned back to the collection of papers and documents. She worked with all the abandon of someone trying very hard to bury themselves in a task.

"Do you know where she is?" Adora asked.

"No, I do not," Castaspella answered as if the conversation had already ended.

"We can't find her."

"Go look in the guest rooms, she is probably taking a nap," the Castaspella still had not looked up from her desk and her irritation was getting harder to restrain.

"We did, she's not there," Bow said. "We waited for her in the dining hall but she never came. Do you know where she went?"

"No!" Castespella shouted. She pressed her hands flat against her desk and got up from her chair, glaring at them. "She teleported out of the conference room and that was the last I saw her," she turned and looked at the clock on the wall. "That was, that was," she blinked, noticing just how long it had really been. She turned back to Bow and Adora, the anger in her voice and eyes was gone. "She never came to the dining hall?"

"No," Bow answered. "And now we're worried."

"And she's not in the guest room?"

"No."

Castaspella cleared some room on her desk then opened a drawer. She took out a crystal ball with a model of Mystacor inside. She held it in the palm of one hand and waved her other over it, mumbling something. The model glowed, faintly for a second then faded. "Oh dear," Castaspella moaned.

"What is it?" Adora asked.

"She's not in Mystacor."

"Then where is she?"

"I don't know, but if she was anywhere in Mystacor this would have revealed her, but it didn't."

A heartbeat later, Bow and Adora were almost flying out of the room, down the hallway and a crossed Mystacor. They found Swiftwind and a lantern, as it was nearly dark and set off into the forest that surrounded Mystacor.

"How do we even find her out here?" Bow asked.

"We just keep circling," Swiftwind said. "See anything?"

"Not yet," Adora said. And so they flew on. Around and around, brushing the tops of the trees, calling out for Glimmer again and again and again until the moon rose and the forest was covered in a weak light. Most of what they saw were shadows but on the slope of a hill they saw something. It had a silvery hue that stood out in the darkness.

"Glimmer!" Bow shouted.

No response.

Swiftwind turned and swooped down to land on the top of the hill. His hooves were still a foot above the ground when Bow jumped off his back, landing on his feet and sprinting to Glimmer.

"Glimmer!" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him, surprised to see him there. "Hi Bow," she said, then pushed past him.

"Glimmer, what are you doing out here?" Adora asked.

"I'm walking," Glimmer said, not looking back at her friends, even as they followed after her.

"Glimmer, it's after dark," Bow said. "The sun is down, the moon is up and you should not be this far from Mystacor by yourself."

"How do you think you are?" Glimmer shouted at them, turning suddenly with clenched fists.

In the light of the lantern Bow could see the redness in her eyes and the dried tears on her cheek. "What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I went for a walk," Glimmer said turning away from them and folding her arms. "I needed some fresh air so I left the castle and went for a walk."

Adora walked over to her, she put on a comforting smile and put a hand on Glimmer's shoulder. "Let's get back to Mystacor," she said.

"No!" Glimmer shouted and pushed her away, hard. Adora would have toppled over had it not been for a convenient tree limb.

"I'm not going back there," Glimmer snarled, stomping off into the darkness.

Bow ran after her, getting in front of her. "Glimmer, what happened?" he asked.

Glimmer looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes. She tried to go passed Bow but he grabbed her arm. "Glimmer!" he half shouted then quickly calmed himself. "Glimmer, what happened?"

"It's true," Glimmer sobbed.

"What's true?" Bow asked.

"What Locust told us, it's all true," She looked at him, horror and sorrow in her eyes.

Bow put his arms around her and held her close. Glimmer rested her head against his chest and sobbed. "I couldn't believe it but he was right. Casta was just as he said."

"Oh Glimmer," Bow moaned.

Adora hung the lantern on a branch and sat down and embraced them both.

Swiftwind sat on the ground beside them.

"Bow?" Glimmer asked finally.

"Yes, Glimmer?"

"What's it all for?"

"What?"

"The war, the Princess Alliance, the Great Rebellion, what is it for?"

"I don't know," Bow answered, uncertain of what to say and feeling stupid for having said it.

"Then what are we fighting for?" Glimmer sobbed, her tears dripping onto Bow's shirt. "Tell me please, what are we fighting for? Because I don't know anymore."


	4. Chapter 4

"And so we came here," Bow finished.

"Why didn't you return to Mystacor?" Angella asked.

"She did not want to go back to Mystacor," Bow explained.

"So you brought her here instead?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Did you inform Castaspella that you found her?"

Bow blinked, suddenly realizing his mistake. "No, we did not."

"And why not?" Angella demanded, the anger seeping back into her voice. "Half of Mystacor was searching for her, didn't you think they should have been informed that she was safe."

"She did not want to go back to Mystacor, and she was very upset, in fact she still is. We didn't want to leave her alone so coming here seemed like the only option."

Angella ran her palm over her face and sighed. "Did she say anything on the journey here?"

Bow shook his head. "No, actually I don't think she said ten words between Mystacor and here. We were afraid to ask her. I don't think I have ever seen her like this. I wish there was some way I could help her."

Angella smiled, warmly. "You are a good friend, Bow," she said. "I thank you, for everything you have done for my daughter."

"I only wish I could do more," he paused for a moment, thinking. "My Queen, may I ask you something?"

"If you wish."

"What was the question?"

"What question?"

"From Lord Locust, when he last spoke to you. What did he ask you?" Bow felt his heart stop for a moment as he saw something in the Queen's grey eyes. Something he had never seen in her before and to see it now was so astonishing that it left him in stunned silence.

"That will be all," Angella announced suddenly, stepping past him and heading towards the main gate.

Bow watched her for a second then called out to her. "Angella!"

She stopped but did not turn to look back, like she did not want him to see whatever it was on her face. "You are a good friend, Bow," she said. "But this matter is between me and my daughter."

Bow was left standing on the bridge as Angella and her guards disappeared through the gate.

Angella walked through her castle, in slightly leisurely pace. There was a storm of memories and feelings raging inside her. The sounds of the castle were drowned out by voices from the past. She remembered her husband's indignation and Locust's desperate pleas. Her legs felt like jelly under her weight but she strived to maintain her usual stoic demeaner. Suddenly she was at the door to her private chambers. "Send a message to Mystacor," she said to one of her guards. "Inform Castaspella that Glimmer has returned to Brightmoon safely."

"At once," the guard said before Angella closed the door behind her. She sat at her desk, and felt her stomach tighten as she remember that it had been in this very room. She had been sitting in this very chair when Locust had asked her that question. The question she could not bring herself to answer, though she had known the answer all along. She felt a blind impulse to tear the chair apart, to smash the desk with her bare hands, to demolish this room and the entire castle for reminding her of what she had so carefully buried for so very long.

She stood up and walked to the window. It was a glorious view of Brightmoon, the castle gleaming in the sunlight, the forest beyond was recovering from the devastation of the Horde. Light dancing a crossed the surface of the river and water falls and the mountains rising majestically into the clouds. It did not help her. She looked down towards the Moonstone and saw two small figures on the platform directly beneath it. She clutched her abdomen, the tightening getting worse until she almost doubled over in pain. She turned away from the window, sat back at her desk and tried very hard to bury it in the mass of documents there.

She read and reread reports on Horde activity, read and reread plans purposed by her officers. She double checked lists of supplies used and supplies obtained. Read messages from other kingdoms and drafted replies. It seemed to be working, her stomach had relaxed and any thought other than the tasks at hand were far from her mind. Then came a knock at the door.

"Enter," Angella called, without even thinking. A few minutes passed, Angella was examining a sheet of paper with columns of figures and working some of them to determine the feasibility of a plan to establish a new base of operations.

"My Queen?" a voice asked.

Angella looked up and saw Bow standing there with a silver tray. "Yes, what is it?" she asked impatiently.

"Your highness, it is time for supper," he explained. "And I was told you had not eaten since breakfast."

Angella glanced at the sky through her window, realizing the sun had moved and she became aware that she was hungry but she ignored it. "Thank you," she said. "Put it on the table and I will get to it momentarily."

Bow did so and then stood there in the middle of the room watching her.

"Was there something else?" Angella asked.

"If I may, your majesty," Bow took a breath before finishing. "You can't hide from Glimmer forever."

Angella pounded her fist on the desk, she stood up glaring at Bow.

Bow recoiled in shock from her sudden anger. He stepped back towards the door.

"Who are you to question my actions?" Angella shouted. "What do you know of these things? How could you-you," she sighed and sank slowly back into her chair. "You are right, of course," she sighed. "I can't hide forever, not in here or anywhere."

"Glimmer needs you," Bow said. "I think she is lost, doesn't know who she is anymore and she needs you to show her."

Angella shook her head. "Does she?" she asked quietly.

"Of course she does, you're her mother. If anyone is going to help her it's you."

"You're wrong Bow."

"Am I? If you can't help her who can?"

Angella smiled, sadly and shook her head. "You're wrong, I'm not hiding from Glimmer."

"You're not?"

"I am hiding from her," without looking up she pointed to a wall.

"From who?"

Angella rose and walked a crossed the floor to the wall she had indicated later. She stood in front of a large mirror and starred intently into the reflection. "From her," she said.

Bow looked at the Queen's face reflected in the mirror and saw the same thing he had seen on the bridge and knew what it was. It was not fear, anger or even sorrow, it was shame.

"I can't help Glimmer," Angella said. "Because I am not the person she thought I was."

"Of course you are, you always were," Bow insisted.

Angella turned and looked at him, "Am I really?" she reached out and touched the surface of the mirror and pressed. It was likely she was reaching into the past, or maybe it was the past reaching into the present. "I had a chance, Bow. I could have stopped all this pain and I failed."

"You had no way of knowing. You couldn't have known."

"Oh but I did," she put a hand over her chest. "In my heart I knew, I knew then and there what was right and I did nothing."

Bow blinked and looked into the mirror.

"It's not what I did," Angella said reading his reflection. "It's what I did not do, and that is what I am ashamed of. That I knew then what was happening but I allowed myself to be caught up in," she stopped, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"You can't change what happened," Bow said.

"No, and I can't help Glimmer either."

"But why not?"

"Because she will come to me and I can't tell her what she wants to hear. She will want me to say that it's all wrong, that they lied to her, that this was some kind of sick, twisted joke. That I am the mother she always thought I was, but I can't tell her that. Because I am not the person she wants me to be," she starred into the mirror for a long moment. "I'm that person, the horrible person they told her about. Then she will be just as ashamed as I am, she will denounce me as a queen and disown me as a mother, and she will be right of course."

"No she won't! Glimmer would never leave you, she loves you."

"She loves who? The woman you see?" Angella nodded towards the mirror. "Or the mother she thought she knew?"

Bow felt his lips trembling and his vision was blurring. He wiped the tears off his eyes, "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Angella shuddered and wrapped her arms around her. "Because then I would lose her, and I can't blame her. What I did cannot be forgiven."

"Why not? If you just-" Bow was cut off by the sound of shattering glass.

Angella had smashed the mirror with a single swift punch of her fist. "I can't even forgive myself!" she shouted. "How can I ask my own daughter forgive me?"

"I forgive you," Bow said.

"You don't even know what I did," Angella said walking back to her desk and dropping into her chair.

"I don't, but I know who you are," Bow walked over to her desk and pointed at the broken glass on the floor. "That is not you, Angella. Who ever you may have been, that is not who you are now. And I know, in my heart at least, that you are not the person you think you are, that you are who Glimmer remembers and she will still love you just as much as she always did. She can, she will forgive you."

Angella starred down at her desk for a moment. "But is she ready?" she asked.

"Let me go talk to her."

"All right, tell her I will be waiting here."

"Yes, my Queen," Bow bowed and started for the door.

"And Bow," Angella said as he swung the door open.

"Yes, your highness?"

"Thank you."


	5. Chapter 5

Adora sat on the corner of the platform, not saying anything. Gimmer was resting on her side, facing away from Adora. The only sounds were the wind blowing over the platform and the river flowing beneath them. Adora watched the princess for a long moment. "Glimmer?" she asked.

No answer.

"Glimmer?" Adora reached over and put a hand on her arm, nudging her slightly. "Glimmer?"

"Hmm?" the princess moaned, turning her head to look at Adora.

"Glimmer, are you feeling well?" Adora asked.

"Of course," Glimmer was smiling but it looked paper thin. "Why do you ask?"

"It usually doesn't take you this long to recharge."

"I guess I just lost track of time," she hopped off the platform. "I think I am going to freshen up."

"Glimmer, I think you should talk with your mother."

"And I will, after a hot shower and some lunch. That sounds perfect right now."

"Glimmer you-" but the princess vanished with a flash, leaving Adora standing beneath the Moonstone all alone. She folded her arms then turned and started down into the castle. It was a long walk from the Moon stone to Glimmer's room, but Adora crossed it more quickly than normal. She came to the door of Glimmer's room and felt the urge to fling it open, venting her frustrations but she stopped herself, counted to ten then knocked. "Glimmer?" she called. "Glimmer, you can't just hide in your room."

Silence.

Adora took hold of the knob turned it and slowly pushed the door open. She peaked through the small space, no sign of Glimmer. She pushed the door open further and poked her head through to look around. "Glimmer?" she stepped through the door then shut it behind her "Glimmer?" She looked up at her bed hanging from the ceiling and saw Glimmer's foot hanging over the side. Adora moved some of the furniture around and with a little effort climbed up to find the princess curled up into a ball in the center of her bed. "Glimmer?"

"Adora, please," Glimmer moaned. "Just go away, I want to be alone."

"Glimmer, I don't think being alone will help."

"Then what will?"

"I don't know," Adora confessed. "When I left the Horde I felt lost and alone. It was terrible, people I had known all my life were suddenly strangers to me. And when we defeated Catra and the Horde, when I realized that she would never be my friend again, I felt like something was missing inside me. Some part of me that was, that was just gone."

Glimmer glanced down at the floor and sobbed.

There was a knock at the door. "Glimmer?" Bow called.

"Come in Bow," Glimmer said, weakly.

"You're mother wishes you see you," Bow said.

"I can't," Glimmer sobbed.

"You have to, sooner or later," Adora said. "And the longer you put it off the worse it will be, trust me."

Glimmer teleported down onto sofa on the floor. She sat there; her body curled around a cushion.

Bow sat down beside her, Adora on the other side.

"Glimmer," Adora said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't" Glimmer sobbed.

"Why not?" Bow asked.

"I'm scared," Glimmer whispered.

"Of what?" Adora asked and Glimmer looked at her with something like suspicion and sadness.

"Glimmer, what happened?" Bow asked. "When you talked to Castaspella, what happened?"

Glimmer looked up at him then Adora, tears in her eyes, her lips quivering she began her story.


	6. Chapter 6

Glimmer and Castaspella watched Adora and Bow step through the doors, leaving them alone.

"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Castaspella asked turning to her niece.

"When I activated the spell it shut down all the drones and robots, just like you said," Glimmer explained.

"Then what exactly is the problem?"

"Scorpia was there, and she was effected by the spell."

Almost immediately Castaspella's mouth bent into a kind of half smile. "And then what?" her voice had more than a hint of excitement now.

Glimmer saw the expression on her aunt's face and it took her half a moment to respond. "The spell effected her heart, she was having a heart attack."

The half smile grew a little and Castaspella glanced up at the ceiling, thoughtfully. "I see," she said.

"Adora tried to help her but-"

"She what?" Castaspella shouted, cutting off her niece and almost jumping out of her chair.

Glimmer was startled by her aunt's reaction. "She-she tried to help her."

"Scorpia? Why would she try to help something as vile and corrupt as her?" the sorceress was glaring at her niece with clenched fists.

Glimmer starred at her aunt, her mouth hanging open. "Casta, we couldn't just leave her to die."

"Why not? Etheria could do with a few less Horde Captains."

Glimmer slumped into her chair, starring with horrific shock at the face of her aunt. "It's true," she whispered. "Every thing he said, it's all true."

"Who said?"

"Scorpia's father, he said he asked you for help, when Scorpia was just a little kid."

"And?"

"He said you refused," by now Glimmer's shock was giving way to anger.

"Of course I did, you expect me to help the likes of them?"

"She was seven," Glimmer cried, almost screamed.

"They're all traitors. Traitors to their people, to their world. When the Horde came they did not lift a finger to stop them."

"So you left Scorpia to die over something her parents did?"

"They killed your father! And you are standing up for them?"

"No wonder they hate us," Glimmer covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

Castaspella walked to Glimmer. "I know you miss him," she said. "I am sorry I brought it up," she put her arms around her niece. "When this is all over, I promise, I am going to make them pay for your father. Every last one of those vile-"

"No!" Glimmer screamed and shoved Castaspella away, hard enough to knock her over. Glimmer got up and stood over her aunt, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You would have let Scorpia, a little girl, a child to die? Why? In all of Etheria, why? What had she done that was so horrible?"

"She's one of them, and Etheria is better off without them."

Glimmer started to say something but only stood there, sobbing, teeth clenched, her arms just hanging at her sides. She turned away from her aunt.

Castaspella stood up and put a hand on Glimmer's shoulder. "Glimmer-" But the princess vanished with a flash of light.


	7. Chapter 7

"It was like you said Adora," Glimmer sobbed. "It was like a complete stranger pretending to be my aunt Casta, but it wasn't. It was my aunt, the same aunt Casta who knitted me all those socks and made those fancy cakes, who helped me to master my powers was the same person who would leave a little kid to die over something her parents had done," she shook her head. "How is that possible?" she wailed. "How can those be the same person? It's impossible, and yet…"

"So why can't you talk to your mother about it?" Adora suggested.

"Don't you get it?" Glimmer screamed and teleported to the middle of the room. She frantically paced back and forth a crossed the floor. "If I go and ask my mom about this who will I find?" she wailed. "Who will I find? My mom, the same caring, over protective queen I have known all my life? Or will I find a completely different person, just like Casta?" She stopped and faced them, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Can you tell me that? Can you?"

Adora looked down at the floor, "No," she said.

"I can," Bow said. He walked over to Glimmer and put his hands on her shoulders. "Glimmer, if you go to your mother right now I know what you will find and it won't be some stranger. She will be there, same person you always loved and she needs you Glimmer."

"Why?"

"Because she is scared, Glimmer. She's ashamed of what happened years ago and now that you know, she is afraid of what that means. She's afraid because she doesn't know if she will find the daughter she has always loved or," he smiled at her. "Just a stranger pretending to be her daughter. That's why she needs you."

"But what if I am just a stranger? What if I'm not the daughter she remembers?"

"I don't think it will matter, because I am certain she won't love you any less for it."

"Thank you Bow," Glimmer put her arms around him. "Thank you."


	8. Chapter 8

The door opened and Glimmer stood there, half in the room looking at her mother. She turned and nodded to someone outside in the hall then stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.

"Hello, Glimmer," Angella said.

Glimmer walked a crossed the floor and sat down in a chair. She put her hands on her lap and looked at her mother, it was like she was studying a complicated puzzle, trying to fit the pieces together before she touched any of them.

"You have a lot of questions, Glimmer-" Angella started but Glimmer interrupted her.

"Who are you?" Glimmer tightened her lips and clenched her fits in her lap. "Who are you, mother?"

Angella nodded, looking down at her desk for a moment then a crossed the room to the broken mirror, the frame was still hanging on the wall. She could not think of a reply and Glimmer went on.

"All my life, I thought I knew you, and Castaspella," Glimmer said in a voice that was fighting to stay calm. "That I knew who you were and what you," she sighed. "What we were fighting for. Then a complete stranger tells me I'm wrong, and I told him he was lying, that I knew my mother, my aunt and my father and when I told my aunt, tried to prove him wrong I-I-" Glimmer started sobbing, finding it too hard to finish.

"You realized he was telling the truth," Angella finished for her daughter. "That your family is not who you thought they were."

"Who are you, mother? Who are you? I never thought you were the kind of person who would let someone die, especially a helpless little girl of all people."

"But I am, Glimmer. Despite whatever you might think, despite all that has happened, I am."

"Why, mother?"

Angella felt her own heart sinking as those events played out in her mind. "I was weak, Glimmer. I was afraid, and I failed."

"Why, mom?" Glimmer's tone was becoming more demanding, even accusative.

"Most of Etheria has always had a deep distrust of the 'pseudo-natural,'" Angella saw the confused expression on her daughter's face. "Machines, robots, vehicles, they are not natural but use the natural laws, bending them to the designs of their creators. Lord Locust and his people were always outcasts from Etherian society because of their preference for technology over magic. Mystacor, having the most magical power in Etheria, always despised them."

"But, but father, surely he-" Glimmer faltered, even as she spoke she felt any hope fading away.

"Was no exception Glimmer. Micah hated them with a terrible passion. When Locust came to us for help your father refused him on the spot, Locust turned to me and begged me." Angella turned and pointed suddenly to a spot in the middle of the floor. "On his knees, right there, he begged me to help Scorpia, to save his daughter's life."

"Why didn't you?" Glimmer shouted. "She was just a kid!"

Angella could feel the tears in her eyes but made no effort to hold them back. "I was weak, Glimmer. I could see the hate in Micah's eyes, feel the rage in his heart. Glimmer, he wanted to rip Locust apart just for being in his presence, and I did not have the will to stop him."

"But mom, you fought the Horde!" Glimmer gestured towards the window. "When they were literally at the front gate, this entire castle surrounded by their tanks and you never flinched once."

Angella closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's so easy, Glimmer, to stand up to your enemies, to those you despise, to the people you want to hurt. To stand up to your friends, to people you love and want to protect, that is very hard, Glimmer. And I loved your father very much."

"You didn't help Scorpia because of father?" Glimmer asked, trying to fit the pieces back together, somehow. "My own father?"

"I can still see the despair in Locust's eyes as Micah ordered him removed from the castle." Angella shuddered at the memory. "Micah told me how much he loved you and wanted to keep you safe and I tried so hard to believe that he was right."

"But you knew he wasn't, didn't you?" Glimmer said. "You knew…"

"Even then, I knew" Angella nodded sadly. "But what I didn't know is he was already planning Locust's destruction. He had been in contact with Salineas and some of the other kingdoms. Your father and King Mercia were planning an invasion of the Crimson Wastes to capture Scorpion Hall, destroy their machines and drive the Horde off Etheria."

Glimmer blinked. "Wait a second, you told me you ordered that battle not father."

"As consort he did not have the authority to order an invasion, and he knew that no kingdom would attack the Horde unless Brightmoon led the way. By the time I learned of the plan all the pieces were in place all I had to do was give him my blessing." Angella shook her head violently, having to force herself to remember. "I could have stopped him, Glimmer. I could have refused, could have ordered him to abandon this plan. I could have saved him, Glimmer, but I let myself get caught up in his anger and hate and I convinced myself it was for you, and for Etheria. But I knew in my heart it was all a lie, a lie your father told himself, and Etheria believed him."

"Mom," Glimmer did not finish, uncertain of what she wanted to say.

Angella leaned back in her chair and cradled her arms as if she was holding a baby. "That night, I took you out of your cradle and held you. I watched you sleeping in my arms, and was filled with guilt and a deep loathing for myself. I thought of Locust and Dragonfly, with Scorpia, broken and burned, and asked what kind of a mother could I be, sitting here with my baby safe and healthy while they were fighting to keep their daughter alive." She looked up at her daughter as she now was; starring at Angella with an expression of confusion and accusation.

"Mother, didn't you see? He was asking you to help Scorpia, he was a man pleading for his daughter's life. Why couldn't you and father see that?"

"All your father saw was an enemy to be crushed at all costs. Afterward, when Hordak had saved Scorpia's life, Micah called one last meeting to deliver an ultimatum. I could see the hate, the rage, the contempt in Locust's eyes. He hated us Glimmer-"

"Of course he did!" Glimmer shouted, jumping out of her chair. "He came to you, begged you, pleaded with you to save his daughter's life and you threw him out?" tears on her cheeks but her tone was more angry than sad. "What do you expect? If that was my daughter how would you expect me to feel?"

Angella turned in her chair, suddenly, covering her face with her hands and wrapping her wings around her.

Glimmer watched, the only sound was the Queen's moans and sobbing. "Mother?" she asked, but she continued crying. The princess felt her rage ebbing away, with a deep compassion flowing in. She took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her face, letting her feelings settle into place before teleporting a crossed the floor to her mother. She put her hands on her mother's shoulders, "mother," she said softly. "What is it?"

"That," Angella's voice was weak and her speech was broken by gasping sobs, "was the question."

"What question?"

Angella looked up at her daughter and Glimmer could see the shame in her mother's eyes, the shame, the guilt, the self-contempt. Angella wrapped her arms and wings around Glimmer, rested her head on the princess's shoulder and wept.

Glimmer put one arm around her mother then cradled her head with the other.

Sobbing, Angella began…


	9. Chapter 9

A cold wind blew a crossed the mountain peak. Angella clutched her staff in hand, beside her Micah stood motionless and she felt reassured, a little. Here, on the edge of the Whispering Woods, they were exposed but they had been assured that Locust would honor the truce. With all that had happened, Angella felt more than a little anxious as she watched the flying machine approach, half expecting it to attack or to be the vanguard of a far larger force.

The machine had four large wings that gleamed in the sunlight and dwarfed the sleek cockpit, giving it a strong resemblance to a butterfly. It circled the peak twice, slowing as it went before rising up and setting down in front of Angella and Micah. It rested on six metal legs and its large wings folding up and out of the way. The cockpit opened and Lord Locust stepped out, removing his helmet and setting it on the seat before approaching Angella and Micah.

"Lord Locust," Micah began. "You have been summoned to this place for a petition of demands upon-"

"Micah!" Locust bellowed, his voice echoing off the stone faces of the mountains around them. "I have more important things to do than waste my time with the likes of you," he said, letting his words drip with contempt and impatience.

Micah clinched the staff in his hands and Angella noticed his knuckles were turning white. "We called you here to hear our formal declaration of hostilities."

Locust scoffed. "A declaration of hostilities? You are declaring war on us?"

"That is correct."

Locust folded his arms and glared at them with an air of passing interest. "You called me here, half way a crossed Etheria, just to tell me you are declaring war? The least you could have done is send it by messenger, and not waste my time," he turned back towards his flying machine.

"Lord Locust, please!" Angella called, stepping forward. "It is custom that before a formal declaration, the rulers of the two kingdoms meet for an airing of grievances."

Locust waved his pincer dismissively. "That is intended as a last ditch attempt at reconciliation."

"Is that so wrong?" Angella asked.

Locust narrowed his eyes on Angella. "An airing of grievances? You want me to stand here and tell you what you should already know?" he gave a mocking laugh.

"We came here to give you a final chance at peace!" Micah said, "And to give you a chance to avoid bringing more pain and sorrow onto your people and you mock us for that?"

"More pain and sorrow? Tell me, your 'royal majesty' what were your terms for peace, exactly?"

"That you and Lady Dragonfly surrender yourselves into our custody, disband your armed forces, expel the Horde outsiders from your realm and dismantle their machines."

"Disband our armed forces? And I suppose you will want your forces in our land to see to it that the Horde is removed and their machines destroyed?"

"Of course we will, we will drive this corruption from our world and save your people as well as ours."

"Save my people? From what? The very future they are building for themselves?"

"We have to destroy them and anyone who is aiding them on Etheria."

"Such as my people for instance?"

"You either stand with us or with the Horde!" Micah roared.

Locust folded his arms and answered in a deceptively calm tone of voice. "Then I certainly am not with you."

"I can see that we are wasting our time. I should have known better than to reason with someone who would side with the Horde over his own people, who would let Hordak corrupt his own daughter."

"Don't talk to me about my daughter," Locust's voice became low and menacing.

"What kind of a father are you?" Micah demanded.

"Me? You remember that day, eight months ago? When I came to you for help? When I begged and pleaded for you to save Scorpia's life, do you remember?"

"Of course I remember," Micah said.

"And do you remember what happened? You threw me out!" Locust stepped forward and leveled his thick red pincer at Micah. "So what do you think I did afterwards? I'll tell you, I went back to my wife and my daughter, no, correction; to the burnt and bleeding remains of my daughter and sat there, watching her getting weaker and weaker begging someone, anyone, to help her and then who comes to us? After you and Angella, after Castaspella and all of Ethera told us no, who came to us and offered to save our daughter's life?" He let that hang in the air for a moment. "So they gave her a new heart, a new lung, a new arm, they patched up her foot and her face and now she's laughing and smiling and practicing the harp again." Locust's voice was getting louder and angrier as he spoke each word. "She has her whole life ahead of her again and you ask me why I side with them? With the people who saved my daughter? What kind of a father am I?" he stepped back and folded his arms again. His voice was returning to something that sounded almost civil "So tell me, Micah, what would you have done? Hmm?"

Angella blinked and her mouth hung open as his words sank through her mind and into her heart.

"If that was Glimmer, instead of Scorpia, and the only person who could save her was Hordak, what would you have done, Micah?"

"I'd never let Hordak put one of his machines inside my daughter, ever!" Micah said, looking Locust directly in the eye and did not flinch or hesitate.

"Even if it meant letting Glimmer die?"

"Even so, better to die than to be turned into one of those horrific abominations."

Locust turned to Angella. "And what about you?"

Angella pressed her lips tightly together. She opened her mouth to speak but turned away from Locust. She did not say another word, not that she needed to.

"You have heard our terms," Micah said. "What is your answer?"

Locust spat on the ground, turned and climbed back into his machine. He put his helmet back on his head, closed the hatch and the machine carried him back over the horizon.


	10. Chapter 10

"That was the question, Glimmer," Angella sobbed. "If it had been you instead of Scorpia, what would me and Micah have done?"

Glimmer stared a crossed the room, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. She went numb with the realization. "Father?" she half whispered half gasped.

"Your father loved you very much, Glimmer, but he hated the Horde and all it stood for. He did not trust Hordak or his machines and was convinced that you and Etheria would never be safe until they were destroyed. He was afraid what would happen if you had been implanted with their machines."

"Father would have let me die?" Suddenly Glimmer remembered Locust's message and the expression on his face. "Mother!" she gasped and pushed her mother back, forcing her to look into her eyes. "He said you never gave him your answer."

"I didn't need to, we both knew. He could see it plain enough, and I saw that he knew and he hated me even more for it."

"For what, mother?"

Angella tried to look away but Glimmer clenched her fists on her shoulders.

"Mother, please!" Glimmer begged. "I have to know, what was your answer?"

"That I would never let you die, Glimmer. We both knew that. If I had been in Locut's position, I would have done exactly what he did. I couldn't bare to watch you die, even if it meant turning to Hordak for help, I would have done it. That was something me and Locust understood, but I was afraid that Micah could never understand."

"And that is why Locust hates you so much," Glimmer said.

Angella nodded. "Because I condemned him and Dragonfly for precisely the same thing I would have done, and that Glimmer, is what I am truly ashamed of. I started a war against a man who only wanted the very thing I wanted. And now you, I'm afraid, will pay the price for my hypocrisy. I'm so sorry, Glimmer, sorry for my weakness, sorry for starting a war that consumed this world. I know its unforgivable, but I want you to understand how ashamed I am."

Glimmer looked down into her mother's eyes and for the first time in what seemed forever, she knew exactly who she was. "I forgive you, mother."

Angella's face suddenly brightened, her mouth hung open in astonishment and her eyes seemed to shine with a sudden hope. She was witnessing a miracle she had long believed she would never see.

Glimmer held her mother close, kissed her gently on the forehead. "But mother," she whispered. "I am not the one, you need to ask"


	11. Chapter 11

"The Princess wishes to speak with you in the meeting chamber," The guard told Bow.

"I will be right there," Bow said, pulling himself out of bed and getting dressed. He started for the chamber and met Adora on the way.

"Did Glimmer say anything to you?" Adora asked, as they walked.

"No, I haven't seen her since last night," Bow said.

"Do you think they're okay?"

Bow shook his head, "I honestly don't know, Adora. This whole thing has really shaken her, I've known Glimmer for years and I'm not sure I have seen her this worked up about anything, even when the Horde attacked the castle, she wasn't quite like this."

"Maybe we should have been with her."

"I doubt it, Adora. This is about Glimmer and her mother, the thing to do would be to give them some space and let them work through it."

Adora sighed. "When me and Catra were in the caverns I kept trying to reach out to her, but I just pushed her away, in the end."

"And you are afraid the same thing will happen with Angella and Glimmer?"

Adora nodded.

"I think that won't happen, at least," Bow glanced down at the floor for a moment. "I would like to think it couldn't happen."

"What do you mean?"

Bow shrugged. "Let's just say Glimmer and Angella are a lot closer than I am with my parents," he looked back to Adora. "I don't know what happened back then, but given the look on Angella's face when she talked about it, she was genuinely sorry for what happened and I think that is what Glimmer needed to see."

"I hope you are right," Adora said as they came to the door of the meeting chamber.

"So do I," Bow said and opened the door. "You called for us, Princess?" he asked.

"Yes I did," there was something eerie about Glimmer, Bow had never seen her like this and yet it was familiar. She was alone, standing in front of a window, staring intently out a crossed the whispering woods. Occasionally she looked down at the staff in her hands, saying nothing.

Bow and Adora exchanged glances. The room was filled with a thunderous silence that only seemed to be getting louder, as neither of them were certain what to say. Thankfully, Glimmer broke it herself.

"You probably want to know what happened with me and mom, last night," Glimmer said, still looking out the window. "You were right, Bow, she wasn't a stranger like my aunt was, and she needed me. She needed me to forgive her."

Adora and Bow exchanged another glance. "And, did you?" Adora asked.

"Yes, I did." Glimmer turned away from the window and tapped the butt of her staff on the floor with a loud thump. "But I am not the one that needs to forgive her." Glimmer walked to the large table in the center of the room and with setting down she touched a panel and activated the holographic map of Etheria, almost half of it was covered in red indicated the areas under Horde control. "All this time we have been fighting the Horde and making very little progress. Last night I realized we have been loosing this war because we haven't been dealing with the real problem."

"So what is the real problem?" Adora asked.

"The divisions within Etheria itself," Glimmer bent over the image on the table. "The schism between the different kingdoms is what allowed the Horde to establish a base on Etheria to begin with. If all the kingdoms were united from the beginning, the Horde would have been crushed in days." Glimmer looked up and Adora and Bow. "We have to bring Etheria back together, if we don't we will never be rid of the Horde."

Bow blinked. He felt an almost overwhelming astonishment and awe as he realized what was different about Glimmer. He had never seen that expression on Glimmer's face, but he had seen it on Angella's; quite often in fact. "How do we do that?" he asked.

"We have to reconcile with Locust and his people," Glimmer said.

"That won't be easy, considering he has been fighting with the Horde for so long," Adora pointed out.

"No it won't, and that will just be the start. You saw Perfuma and Mermista's reaction when they saw that Scorpia had an artificial heart. We have to show them that Scorpia and her people are as much a part of Etheria as they are, to accept them."

Bow nodded and felt a chill as he could still see the horror on Perfuma's face and the utter contempt in Mermista's eyes. "That will not be easy," he said mournfully.

"No it won't, which is why I will need your help."

Adora and Bow walked over to Glimmer and each put a hand on her shoulder.

"We're with you, Glimmer," Adora said.

"What ever happens, we've got your back," Bow smiled then added; "Princess."

Glimmer smiled, wiped a tear off her cheek. "Thank you, both of you," she said. "Now, let's get started."


End file.
